Lemon Crinkle Cookies

Lemon Crinkle Cookies... Moving on with posting more cookies in the cookie series. These lemon crinkle cookies were an absolute favorite. Such a unique and lemony cookie. Chewy and soft... and totally worth having the recipe in my recipe index. 

As much as my husband doesn't care for lemony desserts, this lemon crinkle cookie managed to be one of his very favorites... actually, it was on top of the list from all the cookies I made. So I'm excited to share the recipe... especially for all you lemony dessert fans. I think you'll enjoy this cookie... or at least I hope so:)

While the normal crinkle cookie will have you dip the cookie dough in icing sugar before baking, I felt the icing sugar could easily be omitted... it's just a thought I had as the icing sugar sort of disappears as it bakes and there's little of it left on the surface, so I think next time I'll just skip that step. Or maybe the cookie needs the dunk in the powdered sugar... I don't know:). I'll leave that up to to you.

However, what I thought went really well... was a drizzle of lemony icing sugar glaze I topped the cookies with after they had cooled. I'm sorry I didn't have the chance to photograph them with the glaze, but hopefully mentioning the glaze will be enough to give you the main idea... The thing was that the cookies not only looked pretty with the drizzle, but the glaze added yet another dimension of lemony goodness. Sort of pumped up the lemon flavor one extra notch.

The original recipe has you add some yellow food coloring as an option. If you don't mind adding food coloring  to your baked goods, then feel free to add a few drops as it will help the cookies to have that lemony look. I was tempted to add a touch of turmeric for color, but backed out of the idea as the cookies were going to be given away. Maybe next time I'll try the turmeric idea:). So here's another cookie recipe that's considered a winner. Hope you enjoy...

Wishing you all a most blessed Christmas... 

Remembering Christ's birth was for a reason... 

That we might have eternal life. 

" But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the grace of God should taste death for every man. " Hebrews 2:9

You will need: adapted from Cooking Classy

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
10 TBS unsalted butter, softened
1 cup + 2 TBS granulated sugar
1 TBS lemon zest
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/2 TBS fresh lemon juice
3/4 tsp lemon extract ( I used 1 tsp)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar (optional)
lemon icing glaze optional, not pictured  (icing sugar+lemon juice to drizzling consistency)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper

1. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, whip together butter, sugar and lemon zest until pale and fluffy ... scraping bowl occasionally.
3. Mix in egg then blend in egg yolk.
4. Add lemon juice, lemon extract and vanilla extract; mix until combined.
5. On low speed, slowly add in dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
6. Pour powdered sugar into a small bowl.
7. Scoop 1 1/2 tablespoon of dough and shape into a ball.
8 Drop ball in powdered sugar and roll to evenly coat.
9. Transfer cookies to prepared baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough making sure to space cookies 2-inches apart.
10 Bake in preheated oven for about 10 - 13 minutes. Cool on baking sheet several minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Note: If desired, opt to make a lemon icing sugar glaze to drizzle cookies by mixing lemon juice with icing sugar till drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cookies and allow icing to set.

Store cookies in an airtight container or freeze.

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Strawberry-Pecan Rugelach

Strawberry-Pecan Rugelach... Ok, so we've probably all heard about rugelach cookies... they've been around for a long time. Originally dating back to Jewish origin, the rugelach is a crescent type of cookie that's filled with a myriad of fillings. Rugelach cookies may be known in different countries by different names... and in Romania, rugelach are simply known as "cornulte". Romanians like to fill them with bits of Turkish delights and cover them in plenty of powdered sugar. 

The rugelach dough is a tender type of dough... normally made with plenty of butter (or lard/shortening) along with the addition of either sour cream or cream cheese. The dough usually doesn't have any type of leavening, however, there are older recipes that do use yeast to make the cookies super light and tender. The non-leavening version is a bit less complicated and has more of a crumbly texture...

What I really like about making rugelach is that you can use up those jams you may have sitting in the fridge, or those  small amounts of nuts or dried fruits you may have hanging in the freezer. And if you don't have any nuts or fruits on hand, you can simply use  a bit of jam... any flavor you prefer. In all honesty, even if you don't have any jam on hand, you can get away with a generous dusting of cinnamon-sugar filling. That's what's nice about the rugelach, you can make as many different filling variations as you like. You can even go a bit fancy and use chocolate, marzipan, or even a poppy seed filling. Lots of variations...

Because I had some strawberry jam on hand... and some pecans, my variation was simply a strawberry-pecan rugelach:). But you can make the rugelach your own. Be creative and use ingredients you have on hand. Hope you enjoy....

Tip: Dough needs to be chilled for a couple of hours or more... so plan ahead.

Ingredients: adapted from Family Baking Book (ATK)... makes about 32 cookies, recipe can easily be doubled.

For the dough:

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (5 ounces) flour

1/8 tsp rum extract, optional

couple drops of almond extract, optional

1 tsp freshly grated orange peel

For the Filling:

1/3 cup (2 1/2 ounces) of sugar

1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon, or to taste

1/2 cup strawberry jam, can use jam of choice

1 cup (four ounces) pecans, chopped fine, can use walnuts even mini-chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried fruit of choice, cranberries, apricots golden raisins, can be omitted

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Topping, optional

icing sugar

Directions:

Make Dough:

1. Beat the butter, cream cheese, sugar, vanilla,  rum and almond extracts(if using), orange peel and salt together until light and fluffy.... about 3-6 minutes. 

2. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. 

3. Reduce speed and add flour. Mix until just combined.... about 30 seconds or so.

4. Remove dough from mixer bowl and place onto a floured counter.

5. Divide dough into two equal pieces. Wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours or so. I left mine overnight in the fridge, and then took it out  to soften a bit on the counter before rolling.

• Pre-heat the oven to 375 F. 
• Line two large baking sheets with parchment.

Assemble Cookies:

1. Roll each piece of dough into an 11 inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick. I ended up using a large dinner plate to cut a nice circle, but it isn't needed.

2. Spread about 1/4 cup of the jam on top of each round. 

3. Sprinkle each with 1/2 cup of pecans. 1/4 cup dried fruit of choice, if using and 1 tablespoon of the cinnamon sugar. You could use less of the cinnamon sugar, if you like.... I did.

4. Using a pizza cutter(or knife), cut each dough round evenly into 16 wedges. 

5. Roll up each wedge(starting at the wide end) into a crescent. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets, with the pointed end underneath. 

6. With the pointed end of cookie on the bottom, place each cookie about two inches apart unto the prepared cookie sheet.

7. Brush the melted butter over the cookies and sprinkle with a tiny amount of the remaining cinnamon sugar.  If you use too much sugar it will eventually burn as it bakes... so use minimal amount and place it only on top of the cookie... use about a pinch.

8. Bake cookies until pale gold and slightly puffy, about 20 min. 

9. Immediately transfer the hot cookies to a wire rack... removing any burnt sugar/filling that may have leaked out around the cookie... and cool completely before serving. Don't allow the cookies to cool on the cookie sheet as it will be hard to remove the baked on sugary filling around the cookies.... and they won't look pretty.

10. Dust with icing sugar if desired.

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Oatmeal Cream Pies... and Homemade Marshmallow Fluff(no corn syrup).

Oatmeal Cream Pies... and Homemade Marshmallow Fluff(no corn syrup). Ok, so this was one of those recipes I made for the youth group this year that needed the step-by-step photos. So I've included them... and therefore the long post:).

I made the cookies totally from scratch... even the marshmallow fluff:)! And since I was going to make my own marshmallow filling, I opted to skip the corn syrup and used honey instead. If you want to use corn syrup, feel free to do so. Or if you are in a real hurry, you can just buy the marshmallow fluff. 

The nice part about this recipe is that you can skip the filling completely.... and you'll still have some wonderful cookies! The cookies are quite soft and yet chewy... and loaded with flavor. They're a treat! 

I'll admit, they aren't the healthiest of cookies when you include the filling... they 're actually a bit sweet... but ... once in a while... they are worth it:). Interestingly, I ended up cutting the cookies in half... felt better about it:). 

A fun little project that makes some delicious cookies. Hope you enjoy...

"What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?

I will offer to Thee the sacrifice of Thanksgiving, 

And will call upon the name of the Lord." 

Psalm 116: 12,17

Wishing all my readers a most blessed Thanksgiving!

You will need: adapted from Cooking Classy

Tip: I found it easier to freeze the cookies before filling. The cookies are quite soft and can break easily, so if they are frozen it makes it easy to spread the filling without having the cookies crack. 

1 3/4 cups + 2 TBS all-purpose flour

1 cup quick oats, slightly ground in a food processor to about half their size

2 tsps cocoa powder

2 tsps cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup coconut oil, not melted

1 cup + 1TBS granulated sugar

2 1/2 TBS molasses

2 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

Marshmallow Fluff/Creme: adapted from CHOW

¾ cup granulated sugar

½ cup honey 

¼ cup water

Pinch of salt

2 egg whites, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon cream of tartar

1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or use vanilla beans from 1/2 vanilla pod

Marshmallow Buttercream Filling: adapted from Cooking Classy

1/2 cup butter,  at room temperature, maybe a little bit colder

1- 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar (I used only 1 cup)

1/2 vanilla bean pod, seeds only (or use extract to taste)

8 oz. marshmallow fluff/creme(homemade or bought)

DIRECTIONS:

Make Marshmallow Fluff/Creme 

Note:You can also whip the eggs ahead to soft peaks and then make the syrup... this way you don't have 2 things going on at the same time.

1. Combine the sugar, honey, water and salt in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 240 degrees F on a candy thermometer.

While the sugar mixture is boiling: 

2. Add  egg whites and cream of tartar to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. 

3. Whip on medium-high speed till  soft peaks. Turn off mixer. 

4. When the sugar mixture reaches 240 degrees F. remove from heat and turn the mixer speed to low .

5. With mixer running, slowly drizzle the syrup down the side of the mixer bowl. Once all of the syrup has been added, increase the speed to medium-high and beat until stiff, glossy peaks form... and the mixture has cooled substantially. This should take about about 7- 9 minutes. 

6. During the last minute or two of beating, add vanilla extract or beans, if using

7. Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Make and Bake Oatmeal Cookies

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper

1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, oats, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Set set aside.

2. Using a  paddle attachment of an electric mixer, whip together butter, coconut oil, sugar and molasses on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. 

3. Mix in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. 

4. Stir in vanilla extract. 

5. Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Refrigerate dough while you clean up. 

6. Using a 1 1/2 TBS ice cream scoop, form and shape dough into balls. You can slightly flatten balls a bit.

7. Bake in preheated oven 10 - 12 minutes ... I baked mine for exactly 10 minutes, you don't want to overbake cookies, as they should still be a bit soft. 

8. Allow cookies to cool for a few minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Cookies are quite fragile so be careful when spreading filling. You might want to refrigerate or even freeze them for a  bit so that they don't break on you. 

9. Spread marshmallow buttercream filling along bottom side of one cookie and place another cookie to make a sandwich. 

10. Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature. 

Note: I stored my unfilled cookies in the freezer... and then defrosted them slightly before filling them 

Make Marshmallow Buttercream Filling: You know, if you want, you can totally skip the butter and additional sugar and simply use the marshmallow fluff alone... it will be a bit softer but it works:) 

1. Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, whip butter on medium-high speed, until pale and fluffy, about 3 - 4 minutes. 

2. Add powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined, then increase speed to medium-high and whip for an extra minute. 

3. Mix in marshmallow fluff and thoroughly combine.

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Cranberry Bliss Cookies... a recent FAVORITE cookie.

Cranberry Bliss Cookies... When I first saw this recipe on Cookie and Cups' website, I instantly loved the look of the cookie.... and well, the name too:). Of course, I filed it in my " to do list of cookies"...  and am SO glad I made them! 

Funny thing is, I always add my own spin to most recipes, and I chose to do so with this one as well. But I am sure staying true to the original will yield a fantastic cookie as well... but I'll post my version because I loved the changes and plan on making them this way in the future.

I ended up subbing in a bit of coconut oil for some of the butter, just because I like the flavor coconut oil imparts to cookies. And because I love to play around with flavors, I added a bit of "everything"... enough to make the cookie unique, but not too much as to overpower the cookies. A little bit of spice always works:).

While the original cookie had a frosting and topping added to the cookies... similar to the Cranberry Bliss Bars from Starbucks, I chose to omit them for these cookies. It's kind of interesting I did that, because the topping and frosting is what originally attracted me to the cookies in the first place. However, I just felt the cookies were amazing as is... maybe it was because I made them smaller and loved how pillowy soft they looked. 

If you are interested in making the topping and frosting as well, do feel free to check the original recipe in the link below. I suppose if I would have made my cookies bigger and flatter I might have been tempted to add the frosting and topping... Actually,  I might do that next time, as they sure look pretty all frosted up:). 

These cookies are quite ideal for a Christmas cookie exchange.... especially if you frost them with tiny bits of chopped cranberries....they'll be quite festive looking. Hope you enjoy...   

You will need: adapted from Cookies and Cups

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/4 cup coconut oil, not melted
2 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
2-3 drops almond extract*
2 tsps vanilla extract
2-3 drops rum extract*
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
pinch nutmeg*
pinch ginger*
pinch cinnamon*
2 1/4 cups flour
1 cup white chocolate chips(I used Toll House)
3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried cranberries
* can be optional

Directions:

1. Using an electric mixer, cream butter, coconut oil and cream cheese together until smooth.
2. Add brown sugar and beat for and additional 1-2 minutes...  or until fluffy.
3. Add eggs, vanilla (and optional extracts, if desired), baking soda, salt and optional nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, if desired. Beat until thoroughly combined.
4. Add flour and combine on low speed.
5. Stir in white chocolate chips and chopped cranberries.
6. Remove and chill dough for at least 2 hours ... or overnight.. can even freeze dough.

• Preheat oven to 375° F. 
• Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

7. Remove dough from fridge and form dough in 1 inch balls( or whatever size you prefer). Place dough on baking sheet, about 2 inches apart  and flatten slightly if you prefer your cookies flatter or do not flatten if you prefer your cookies rounder and more mound-like with a softer cookie dough interior .
8. Bake for 7-11 minutes,  depending on size... or until edges are golden and centers are just set.
9. Remove and cool completely.

Note: I made another variation using the basic dough... with dried strawberries chocolate chips and all butter, omitting coconut oil then drizzled with white chocolate.... the cookies were still good, but somehow I much preferred the coconut oil version and white chocolate chips with cranberries. 

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Nutella Pocket Cookies... Nutella "Dreams"

Nutella Pocket Cookies...  or Nutella "Dreams".  It's been quite some time since my last post. I've been quite busy... but I thought to stop by a bit and post a few new recipes. 

Every year about this time, I bake cookies for our annual church youth weekend retreat. And I've made it a habit to post some of the recipes I bake here on my blog. Normally in my baking frenzy, I don't take step-by-step pictures... so the recipes I'll be posting will most likely just have the directions without the usual step-by-step photos. Maybe one or two will have  a few photos for clarification, but for the most part, the directions should suffice. 

It's a bit awkward for me as well not to include the step-by-step photos:)... as I'm so used to a ton of photos attached to a single recipe... but bear with me while I post these cookie recipes in the near future. Hopefully you'll be inspired to make one or two... why, with Christmas around the corner the cookie recipes might come in handy:). 

In any case, here is the first... in a series of cookies. This particular cookie was a  personal favorite of my husband... who tends to sample the cookies...just to make sure they are all right:). Hope you enjoy...

You will need: adapted from Mrs. Fields Cookie Book

Cookie:

3/4 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup icing sugar

1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 large egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla extract, or a bit more:)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

pinch of salt

Filling:  

Note: You can use a chocolate ganache filling instead if you like

Nutella, as needed ... about 1 slightly rounded teaspoon per cookie

Topping :

icing sugar

Directions: 

1. In a bowl of an electric mixer cream butter on medium speed about a minute or so.

2. Add icing sugar, brown sugar and pinch of salt; beat till smooth.

3. Add yolks and vanilla and mix till light and fluffy using medium speed. Scrape bowl as needed

4. Add flour and and blend until thoroughly combined. 

5. Remove dough, form into a ball and flatten into a disc.

6. Refrigerate for 1+ hours. I left mine overnight.

Prepare Filling:

1. If making chocolate ganache, prepare while dough is chilling. Scald 1/2 cup cream and add 1 cup chocolate chips, combine and set aside to thicken and cool) 

2. If using nutella, place in fridge to harden a bit so that it will be a bit easier to scoop teaspoons unto the cookie.  

Bake Cookies:

• Preheat oven to 325 deg F
• Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.

1. Remove cookie dough from fridge... if dough has been sitting in fridge overnight or longer than an hour allow to soften a bit before proceeding with recipe. Otherwise, the dough will crack.

2. Flour counter top and rolling pin. Using the floured rolling pin, roll dough to about 1/4 inch  thick. 

3. Cut circles with a 2 inch round cookie cutter(you can also make them a bit larger or smaller depending on preference, just adjust baking time).

4. Place cookie circles onto parchment lined cookie sheet. Continue with rest of dough, using all scraps, until dough is used up.

5. Place 1 teaspoon of nutella(or ganache) in center of cookie circle and top with another circle. 

6. Completely seal the edges of the cookie with the tines of a fork. 

7. Bake until cookies are lightly golden brown around the edges, being careful not to burn... this can take anywhere from 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness and size of the cookies. Just keep an eye on them...

8. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Sprinkle with icing sugar, if desired... or you can be creative and drizzle chocolate over the top. 

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Apple Pie Cookies... and a gluten-free version.

Apple Pie Cookies... and a gluten-free version. I'm sorry I don't intend on posting too many dessert recipes one after another... but I've had a few sitting in my draft that I should post. So bear with me as I "clean" my draft folder.

If you remember I posted a make-ahead pie crust recipe some time ago... a pie crust you could store in the freezer for future use. Well, I wanted to show you what I ended up doing with half the batch. I made these apple pie cookies last year, for a church Christmas hymn sing, but I'm finally getting around to posting the recipe.

The idea of making apple pie cookies might not be so new, as I'm sure many of you have seen apple pie cookie recipes floating all over the internet. Personally, I've always wanted to make them. I thought they were the cutest of things:).

Since I always make my own pie crust, I ended up using my homemade version, but this recipe can easily made with any pie crust really. You can use a ready-made store bought pie crust, or even use your own pie crust recipe that's special to you... maybe handed down from your mother or grandmother. The recipe I use is an all-butter crust...  which makes for a tender and flaky pastry-like crust.

I love adding a nut filling to my apple pies, as it gives it extra flavor and a bit of texture. It also holds the bottom of the pie crust from getting too soggy. I applied the same idea when making these pie cookies, but you can certainly skip the nut filling if you want... or you can add a bit of caramel.

While you can make simple, round, double-crusted apple pie cookies, I rather like the lattice look. It makes the cookies look a bit more elegant... more pastry-like, rather than cookies. But feel free to make the cookies without the lattice top.

And since I also made a gluten-free version, I thought to post that as well. The lattice for the GF apple pie cookies was quite a bit harder to make. I'd recommend crisscrossing the lattice part, without interweaving them, or even skipping the lattice part completely and using just round pie circles(double-crust). The GF crust is much more fragile... prone to breaking, and giving you a headache:).

Hopefully, the apple pie cookie idea is seen in this post, my intention was not to make it look too complicated:).... because it really isn't.  They're just mini apple pies... flatter... to take on the form of cookies. You'll  have a few scraps from the cutouts, but you can bake them as is, or place the scraps in x-small muffin tins.... makes really good mini "tarts". Of course, you can skip the cutouts and  make one large lattice apple pie cookie. Actually, I thought of  making one large cookie myself... but I'd probably call it an apple pie tart:).... especially if you cut it in wedges. Maybe next time. Hope you enjoy...    

You will need: makes about 20 ( 2-3 inch) apple pie cookies

Ingredients For Making Pie Cookies:

2 pie crusts
apple pie filling
nut filling, or can use a caramel filling
cinnamon, nutmeg sugar
raw sugar crystals
icing, optional
beaten egg for brushing top of pie cookies

Nut Filling: For one regular apple pie cookies recipe. Will need to make another 1/2 of the recipe for a GF version 

1/2 cup ground walnuts
1 TBS brown sugar, or to taste
1 TBS beaten egg
1/8 tsp vanilla

Apple Filling: will need only 1/2 of the filling to make the regular apple pie cookies recipe... can freeze the rest or use the rest to make the GF version below

2 large apples*
1 TBS cornstarch
4- 5 TBS sugar
2-3 TBS lemon meyer juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cinnamon
* I used 1 large fuji apple + 1 large pink lady apple= 4 1/2- 5 cups sm. dice apples

Directions:

Make Nut Filling:
1. Beat egg, and remove 1 TBS beaten egg and place in a bowl. Reserve the rest of the egg for brushing the top of the cookies.
2. To the 1 TBS beaten egg, add the ground walnuts, brown sugar and vanilla. Combine all ingredients. Set aside. This nut filling makes enough for just the regular pie  cookies, but if you would like to make a gluten-free version, then you will need to make another 1/2 a batch. Set aside.

Make Apple Filling: 
1. Peel and cut apples in small dice pieces( 1/4 inch or so)... you should have about 5 cups.
2. In a medium saucepan, add diced apples, cornstarch, sugar, and cinnamon. Heat on med-low and mix ingredients until combined. Cook, stirring often... till apples slightly soften and thicken. This will take about 10 -12 minutes or so. Taste filling, adjust for sweetness and add the lemon juice. Stir in the vanilla. Set aside.


Make Cinnamon Sugar + Icing:
1 TBS sugar+ 1/4 tsp cinnamon+ a few gratings of nutmeg
Powdered sugar+ a bit of water + lemon/vanilla extract to drizzling consistency

Assemble Apple Pie Cookies:

• Preheat oven to 375 deg F
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

1. Roll out one pie crust to about 12 inches in diameter... or so. 

2. Spread nut filling on bottom of crust... all the way to the edge.

3. Place about 1 cup of the diced apple filling and spread on top of the nut filling. You will have some apple filling leftover. You may freeze the rest for another use,  or use it to make another small batch of GF pie cookies , as I did.

4. Roll out second pie crust to about 12 inches and cut 1/2 inch strips. Place strips in lattice design on top of the apple filling. 

5. Brush lattice top with beaten egg, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, can add a bit of raw coarse sugar as well, if desired.

6. Using a 2 1/2- 3 inch sharp round cookie cutter, cut out cookies... making sure to leave as little a space between cutouts to maximize the number of cookies you get.

7. Place cookies on parchment lined cookie sheet. With scraps, I like to use a mini muffin tin and bake them... this way I don't waste the scraps and turn them into mini muffin pie scraps.  You can see this in the GF version photos below.

8. Bake in preheated 375 deg F oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

9. If you like, you can drizzle some cookies with a powdered sugar icing. 

Gluten- Free Apple Pie Cookies

Note: It is best to keep pie crust cold, as it is difficult to work with if dough is soft. And use a bit of GF flour to dust work surface as you roll out dough.

You will need:

1 GF pie crust recipe, 4 pieces, rolled in 6 inch circles

1 cup diced apple pie filling

1/2 nut filling(recipe above)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 deg F
• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper

1. Cut pie crust in 4 pieces. You will need to work with smaller pieces, as the crust is quite fragile. Roll out one piece of the dough to about 6 inch or so.

2. Spread about 2 tablespoons or so of nut filling on crust, then add about 1/2 cup of apple pie filling and spread it to the edge.

3. Roll out another 6 inch pie crust, cut in strips and form lattice top.... 

Now, I must admit this was quite challenging as the dough breaks easily. I used a knife to lift up the strips and had many broken pieces. In the end it turned out ok. It's doable, but if you want to make it easier, you can opt to cut out small shapes and use those instead or even placing another rolled out crust on top as you would when making regular pies(w/out any lattice work). 

4. Brush top with beaten egg, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, can add a bit of raw coarse sugar as well, if desired.

5. Using a 2 1/2- 3 inch sharp round cookie cutter, cut out cookies... 

6. Place cookies on parchment lined cookie sheet.

7. Repeat the process with the other 2 pieces. 

8. With scraps, I like to use a mini muffin tin and bake them... this way I don't waste the scraps and turn them into mini muffin pies. 

9. Bake in preheated 375 deg F oven for 15 minutes or so... or until golden.

10. If you like, you can drizzle some cookies with a powdered sugar icing.

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Chocolate Covered Figs... easy and healthy.

Chocolate Covered Figs... as a snack or perfect for gift giving. I think the title of this recipe is all the information one needs to make these delicious treats.  There's nothing complicated in this recipe... well, as long as the chocolate doesn't burn in the melting process:). 

In any case, I thought to share with you a simple recipe... I feel as I don't have too many quick and simple recipes here on this site:).... and I have a recipe I'll be posting soon that will probably take the prize for the longest recipe ever. But for now, this one is definitely uncomplicated...  quick and simple! It's great as a snack, a breakfast treat, placed next to a fancy dessert.... or simply given out as gifts, all wrapped up nicely.

Last week  while on a weekend drive out of town, my husband and I stopped at a CO-OP. Love the CO-OP... because you can feel like a kid again.... it's where you can pick all sorts of treats from a variety of bins and you don't feel bad about your selection. It's usually healthy:). So both my husband and I picked out our favorite treats... dried figs for my husband... and chocolate for me:).  

When we got home, we snacked on the figs and chocolate... found out that chocolate and figs taste incredibly well together. So the next day, I put the 2 flavors together and made these little treats.  I left them simple... just chocolate and figs, but you can easily add some chopped nuts to the dipped chocolate base, or even dried coconut. I think green pistachios would bring a nice bright pop of color. 

If you're looking to add an edible treat to brighten up a gift basket or cookie plate, you might want to try these simple chocolate covered figs. They are gluten-free... and you can use a good chocolate to make them free of most allergens. Hope you enjoy...  

You will need: you can make a few or as many as you like

dried calimyrna figs

melted chocolate

Optional:

chopped nuts

dried coconut 

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate... either in a double boiler or the microwave in 30 second increments.

2. Dip dried figs in chocolate.... and if you like, in chopped nuts or coconut. 

3. Place dipped figs on a plastic lined plate ... or parchment lined plate and allow chocolate to harden in the fridge (if chocolate isn't tempered). 

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Chia Seed Pudding... Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free

Chia Seed Pudding (No-Cook)... Dairy-Free. When I made the Brazilian-style shrimp stew recently, I ended up having quite a bit of cashew milk leftover. Since I had a big bag of chia seeds in my fridge, I decided on the spur of the moment to turn the nut milk into a quick and healthy dessert... a pudding that could double up as a snack or breakfast item.   

This is a simple, no-cook type of pudding and it happens to be gluten-free and dairy free. A pudding that's great all year round( I can only imagine how nice this could be during the summer months with fresh fruits)... and is adaptable to a wide variety of toppings or add-ins. I used cashew milk, but you can use whatever milk you like... even a combination of milks.

For my version I chose to go with  middle eastern flavors... and really enjoyed it. I know chia seed puddings aren't something new, but I thought to share this recipe, last minute, in case some of you have never tried it. Hope you enjoy...    

You will need:

2 cups cashew milk (can use almond milk, coconut milk or milk of choice)*

1/4 cup honey, to taste (or other sweetener of choice)

pinch of salt

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of cinnamon

pinch of cardamon, optional

a few gratings of orange peel (or citrus of choice)

1/3 cup chia seeds, can use a bit more if you want it much thicker

vanilla, I didn't use, but it would be great

*to make nut milk, soak nuts(if desired overnight) add 1 cup nuts to about 3 cups water, blend till smooth and creamy

Toppings and extra sweetener of choice, if needed:

*dried chopped fruit~ dates, raisins, blueberries, cranberries, cherries, apricots, etc

*chopped nuts~ walnuts, pecans, pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts, toasted coconut flakes, etc

*maple syrup, honey

Other ideas~ chopped chocolate, cacao powder, fresh fruits

Directions:

1. Combine nut milk with honey ( or sweetener of choice) until  honey is dissolved. 

2. Add cinnamon, nutmeg and orange peel. Stir to combine.

3. Sprinkle chia seeds over milk and whisk  to combine well.

4. Place chia seed milk mixture in fridge for a few hours till thickened... preferably overnight.  

5. Add any toppings of choice... you can layer the pudding with toppings for a pretty presentation.... and add extra sweetener if desired.

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Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies... with almond flour.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies... with almond flour. I'm always looking for good gluten-free desserts, GF desserts that can easily pass for regular desserts. Recently I thought of making some GF chocolate chip cookies.... just because cookies are always a dessert that most folks enjoy. But when looking to make a gluten-free version, I wanted the cookies to taste like real chocolate chip cookies.... and I also wanted them to look like chocolate chip cookies. 

Immediately I thought of the big bag of almond flour I had in my freezer. Why not substitute the all-purpose flour in a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe with almond flour? It should work, as almond flour works extremely well in most cake and cookie recipes. And since I was still playing around with the ingredients, I decided to substitute the butter with coconut oil... lowering the coconut oil a tad bit, as I felt there was plenty of "fat" in the almond flour.

In general, cookie dough benefits from a resting time... especially so when working with nut flours. Decided to implement the idea in this cookie dough recipe as well. After mixing the dough, I let it rest in the freezer for a few hours, giving the almond flour plenty of time to absorb the liquids. The dough would also be firm enough to scoop and form into cookie dough balls. I did end up tossing in some chopped pecans, because I love the textural difference nuts provide, but it's definitely optional. 

Initially, I had meant to bake the cookies at 350 deg F., but somehow had my oven heating at 375 deg. F from another baking project... and forgot to lower it. I guess 375 deg F it was... but 350 might be better:). And so my experiment baked up beautiful gluten-free chocolate chip cookies. Slightly crispy, yet chewy... with loads of chocolate and no white flour. They were delicious! Sorry about the lighting in the pictures... baked these at night:). Hope you enjoy...

You will need:

1/3 coconut oil, room temp. solid, not melted 

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup sugar

1 ex-large egg

2 tsps vanilla extract

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 1/4 cups almond flour

1 cup hand-chopped dark chocolate (or chips)

1 handful chopped pecans, optional

Directions:

1. Beat together the coconut oil and sugars until combined thoroughly and smooth.

2. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until smooth.

3. Whisk together the almond flour, baking soda and salt. Add to wet ingredients. Mix until fully incorporated.

4. Add chopped chocolate and fold in.

5. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight... or freeze for a couple of hours.  

• Preheat oven to 375 deg F
• Line baking sheet with parchment paper

6. Remove cookie dough from fridge (or freezer). Form in 1 inch balls. Place cookie dough balls on parchment lined baking sheet. Flatten cookie balls slightly.

7. Bake in pre-heated 375 Deg F oven for 8-10 minutes, or until lightly golden. 

8. Remove pan from oven and allow cookies to cool somewhat in pan( cookies can be fragile when hot) before lifting them off the sheet pan... and cooling on wire rack completely.

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Homemade Coconut Butter... and a toasted version.

Homemade Coconut Butter... and a Toasted Coconut Butter version. Sometimes I'm at a loss as what to do when it comes to all the coconut I buy. Because I really, really like coconut, I often find myself buying a bag of dry, flaked coconut every time most times I go to our local natural food store. I keep thinking I'll end up using it in some kind of recipe... be it savory or sweet. I admit I love adding it to breadcrumbs (panko), when making chicken strips or breaded shrimp. And I seem to add it to all sorts of dessert recipes, swapping out some of the flour for a bit of coconut. It's become a habit really.

In any case, I was doing some inventory of my freezer and happened to notice a couple of bags of unsweetened flaked coconut that I had forgotten about... I don't like it when I lose track of my frozen items. Sometimes it's hard though, especially when you have a freezer chest... you know, the ones that are built like a huge box, and you really need to stretch down so you can retrieve a frozen item that may be somewhere on the bottom.

So for some reason, when I found the couple of bags of coconut in my freezer, I really wanted to "use it up". Not that it was expired or anything like that. It was mostly because I just didn't want it to get lost again. Silly, really. But that's what went on my my head at the moment... so I used all the coconut I had:). And made these 2 coconut butters...

It's funny, but I didn't realize the "huge" amount of coconut I had would make such a small amount of coconut butter. Well, I guess I sort of knew, but was really hoping I'd get a bit more coconut butter than I did:). In any case, from about 5 cups of dry small flaked coconut, I got maybe about 1 1/2 cups of coconut butter. But coconut butter is quite potent. I mean it goes a long way...  I suppose, like peanut butter would. You can't eat too much of it. And I guess that's why coconut butter is so expensive... lots of coconut is used. Yet, I still think it's worth making at home.

While I made a couple of simple versions, you can easily add all sorts of flavorings to the coconut butter. I really liked it with some dried cranberries/tart cherries, but chocolate goes really well too. At one point I melted some chocolate and mixed it with some of the coconut butter and then made some truffles. So you can get to be quite creative. Of course, you can  simply slather some on toast with a bit of honey, or preserves. It's good that way too.

When I made these coconut butters, I ended up making one batch in the food processor, and another in my Vitamix. I'd totally recommend the Vitamix, if you have one. The food processor is an option, but it takes such a long time... like a really long time... however, it is possible. You just won't get as smooth a butter as you would in a high speed blender. Oh, and you need a strong food processor, because you wouldn't want to burn the motor from all the processing.

Hopefully you can see the difference between the 2 processing methods in the photos. My food processor version is the plain white coconut butter. The toasted version was done in my Vitamix. Hope you enjoy...

Tip: Use some of this coconut butter when making curries...

You will need:

For Regular Coconut Butter: makes about 2/3 cup

2 cups unsweetened, flaked coconut (you can use a bigger amount , if you like)

a pinch of salt

flavorings of choice, optional (cinnamon, chocolate, citrus, vanilla, etc... even bits of chocolate and chopped dried fruits.)

For Toasted Coconut Butter: makes about 3/4 cup

3 cups unsweetened, flaked coconut

pinch of salt

flavorings, additions of choice, optional

Directions:

Food Processor method: not as smooth as Vitamix method.... and takes forever, well, almost:).

1. Add the coconut and pinch of salt to the bowl of a heavy duty food processor.

2. Blend until coconut becomes pasty and pureed... as finely as you can get it. This will take about  15 + minutes... it can even take longer, depending on food processor. You will need to stop processor occasionally to scrape down the sides. Also it is VERY important to give your processor a break because it will get hot... 

3. Add flavorings of choice, if desired.... If you would like to add chocolate chips, allow the butter to cool down a bit. Pour in container.

4.  Store at room temperature, or in the fridge, warming it up to make it fluid again. It will get hard in the fridge, and solid at room temperature.

Vitamix Method: preferred method.

1.  Add coconut to the Vitamix blender along with a pinch of salt. 

2. Turn blender on low and increase speed to the highest speed possible(slowly), making sure to  press down with the Vitamix stick to get the coconut moving. 

3. Blend until coconut turns into a liquid paste that is as smooth as you can get it. This will take anywhere from 2-5 minutes. 

4. Add flavorings of choice, if desired. Pour in container.

5. Store at room temperature, or in the fridge, warming it up to make it fluid again. It will get real hard in the fridge, and solid at room temperature.

Directions for the Toasted Coconut Butter:

1. Heat a dry skillet on medium heat. Add coconut flakes and toast till light golden brown, stirring oven so as not to burn and lowering heat as needed. 

2. Proceed with above directions for blending. 

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